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Thanksgiving is perfect for recording family histories

Citizen-Times contributor
Published 7:55 a.m. ET Nov. 24, 2015

FILE -In this Wednesday, March 25, 2015 file photo, StoryCorps founder Dave Isay demonstrates how to record a story using a smartphone app, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. "The Great Thanksgiving Listen" is an assignment that will last for generations, StoryCorps founder Dave Isay said. StoryCorps wants tens of thousands of teenagers across America to interview a grandparent or elder this Thanksgiving and upload their recordings to the Library of Congress. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)(Photo: AP)

If your Thanksgiving plans include time spent with older relatives or friends, consider spending some special moments recording some of their memories.

It’s a fun family project that’s inspired this year by a pilot program created by StoryCorps called “The Great Thanksgiving Listen.” The goal is to “preserve the voices and stories of an entire generation of Americans over a single holiday weekend.”

StoryCorps has collected and archived more than 60,000 interviews from more than 100,000 people across the country during its 12-year history. Those interviews have taken place at mobile sites StoryCorps sets up in various cities. Now, there’s a game-changer in place — they are dramatically expanding the ability to hear more voices and memories through the free StoryCorps mobile app. Dave Isay, founder and president of StoryCorps shared his vision for the app at a TED Talk in March and launched it using the $1 million 2015 TED Prize.

As more people are disconnecting because of their electronic device usage, this is a clever way to use technology to get people talking to each other again.

“All you need is a smartphone and another person to have a conversation with,” said Colleen Ross, spokesperson for StoryCorps. “The idea is that the project is open to anyone, but we have created a customized toolkit for high school teachers because we’d like to see this incorporated into the curriculum.”

She says it’s especially beneficial for 10th, 11th, and 12th grade classes in U.S. History. The project allows room for customization — if a class is studying civil rights, for example, they can interview people about how their own lives have been affected.

Once the recordings are complete, Ross says participants have the opportunity to share them at the StoryCorps.me website and the American Folklife Center at the U.S. Library of Congress, where they will be archived. “The way the site is organized, people can assign keywords,” she explained. “We’ve made recommendations to teachers to use keywords by location, so we should be able to sort by location.”

While the StoryCorps app requires users to be at least 13 years old (with parental consent), getting younger children in the habit of listening to older relatives about their memories and past life events can be educational as well as bonding.

Here are a few tips from StoryCorps to make the most of your recordings:

•Plan your questions: Before recording use the app’s question generator to chart out questions or take time to write your own.

•Ask warm-up questions: The app includes a variety of warm-up questions to help you get comfortable and ease into the flow of the conversation.

•Ask open-ended questions: Use language like “Tell me about… “ Or “What was it like when… “

•Ask follow-up questions: Be prepared to divert from your planned list of questions if you hear something you’d like to know more about. If someone talks about what they did for a living, you might follow up with “What are you most proud of in your career?”

•Think of it as a conversation: Speak normally and really listen to what the person is saying. There’s no right or wrong thing to talk about.

•Tell a story: Don’t hesitate to tell a story and bring up your favorite shared memories.

•Set up context: Keep in mind that listeners may not be familiar with people and places mentioned in the conversation. Ask questions like, “Who was Uncle Steve?” “Why was he such an influence on you?”

•Encourage vivid details: Ask questions that evoke the senses. “What did your kitchen smell like when you were a child?” “What were your favorite tunes? Or scents? Or images?”

•Plan some reflective questions: Pay attention to the app’s timer so you know when there are 10 minutes left and then five minutes left. Begin wrapping up the interview with questions like “Looking back, what were the happiest times for you?”

•Relax and have fun: This is the most important part. Enjoy the process of asking, listening, and sharing the experience.